All the Best
by magicalmangoes
Summary: It's a few years after the Battle of Hogwarts and on Hermione's wedding day, Draco writes her a letter. One-sided Dramione.


**ALL THE BEST (Draco/Hermione)**

Dear Hermione,

There were so many things I wanted to say to you. Considering how I will never get the chance anymore, I'm going to tell you now. And the first thing is that, I have never thought of you as just some Mudblood.

Yes, I admit, I was bought up to hate on those with a different parentage and to discriminate cruelly. My family was bought up as anti-Muggle and I just went along with it. But you were different. You were beautiful. You may not know it, but the first time I ever laid eyes on you was the moment that changed my life. I walked past your compartment and you stood there, in a compartment, talking to Potter and Weasley. I stood there for a bit, staring at you, forgetting everything my father had said about how Malfoy men did not do something as undignified as staring like a little drowning fish. I stood and I stared, rather unashamedly, I admit. You came out of the compartment and brushed past me. I smelt your shampoo as you walked past and I hoped with all my might, that you were only insulting Weasley, and you would be put in Slytherin, with a respectable family background that my father and mother would accept. Even Potter could join, if you had decided to befriend him. Anything to have you by my side.

Even though at the ceremony, I learnt your name, the sorting hat disappointed me and you were placed in Gryffindor. I stared at your table, wondering what your background was. Were you from a long line of Gryffindors? Did you have a sibling in that house? Hermione Granger, you invaded my dreams that night, and asserted territory I would never reclaim. I kept an ear out for the rest of that week, hoping to hear some good news about you. Perhaps your father was a high-ranking official at the Ministry?

It was during Potions when I heard.

"That filthy Mudblood! Who does she think she is? Always putting her hand up in the air, sticking her nose into everything. With that sort of hair you wouldn't think she would be able to fit in the door! Maybe we should teach her a lesson, don't you think, Draco?"

I turned to look at Blaise and said dryly, "Who? I don't exactly keep track of the Gryffindors in the whole school."

"Granger," he snapped his fingers, "Hermione, that's her name. Even her name reeks of her dirty blood."

The liquid running through my veins turned cold as I realised who you were, but more importantly, who your parents were.

I tried to stop it, I really did. I tried to avoid you, I took pains to sit in the bench with my back towards the Gryffindor table at meal times. I focused on other things when you talked in class, amused myself by insulting Weasley and Potter.

But I couldn't. I was just so irresistibly drawn to you and even without having a proper conversation with you, I felt as though I was attuned to your movements and emotions. I struggled through the year, trying again and again to convince myself that it was just a foolish curiosity, and I would grow up and get over it, but I never did. You became closer with Potter and Weasley as I watched afar with this monster in my chest growling and threatening to rip out and do something rash. I watched as you won the hearts of the teachers and your fellow schoolmates and at times, I even foolishly wondered if we could have a future together.

I knew what you saw me as a bully. In your eyes, I picked on your and others of your family background and I was nothing more than a cruel, ignorant, silly little boy. I am more than that, promise. I've always tried to look after you. You never knew, but I tried to be always there for you. I couldn't all the time, due to other… commitments, but I tried my very hardest to take care of you from a distance.

When you were petrified in second year, I was furious. How could Potter claim to be your friend and yet still do something like that to you? I ran straight to the infirmary and held your hand until your so-called friends arrived. I quickly casted a shoddy disillusionment charm, that I had just learnt my father that summer, and disappeared before they got suspicious. I was angry at how you chose them as friends, yet they constantly led you into danger. If you were with me, I could have kept you safe. With my father's power and authority and my position at the school, I could have kept you by my side, happy and protected. I know that's not what you would ever want, but it made for a dream.

At home or at school, with my friends or family, I was always able to keep a blank face hiding my emotions. My father had taught me the advantages of that from a very young age. No one knew about my fondness for you. I hid it carefully, completely understanding the consequences that would follow if it weren't kept under wraps. Nevertheless, I kept an eye on you during our outings to Hogsmeade. I knew the school was safe, with the teachers and numerous spells casted on the walls, but in the magical village, I wasn't willing to take chances. I had convinced Crabbe and Goyle to follow you and the Weasley, where I found you at the Shrieking Shack. I poked fun at the pair of you, even though I wanted to be the one standing next to you in the cold, biting air, and giving you just a little bit more warmth. So when Potter interrupted me, I think it was a good thing, before I said anything more. Everything I said was fake, Granger. Despite what it seems, I really do care about your feelings. Like I said before, I'm just good at keeping a blank face.

So when you punched me in the face, at the hippogriff's execution, I almost cherished the moment. It was a sign that you took notice of me, that I was a part of you life, albeit a rather negative part. It was so twisted, yet I couldn't bring myself to care. All that mattered in my thirteen year old mind was that the girl I was absolutely devoted to knew who I was.

During the Triwizard Tournament, I tried to convince myself that I was over you. The Daily Prophet said you with Potter and then with that seeker Krum. I knew you weren't that type of woman, yet it was time for me to forget you and move on. I took Pansy to the Yule Ball, except she got rather angry with me when I was distracted the whole night.

You looked beautiful that night, Hermione. You always do, but on that night, there was just something different about you. When you danced with Krum across the Great Hall, there was just an indescribable feeling of jealousy in my chest. I wanted to punch him in the face so hard that he would never be able to see a Snitch again.

We were both prefects in fifth year and I was proud of you. You were able to fight any prejudices against you and rise to a power of position. Yet I realised, with Umbridge's arrival and your participation in Potter's little group, the distance between us had been made larger than ever.

The year came and gone and I was sixteen. My parents had put so much hope and faith in me, counting on me to bring back honour to the Malfoy name, both with the Ministry and the Dark Lord. I was so stressed out and scared of the future. I didn't want to do something that would undoubtedly haunt me for the remainder of my years. Yet, while I fretted about my impossible… task, you were fighting your own battles. No one in the whole school was able to escape the shrill shrieks of delight of Weasley's girlfriend. No meal was able to be consumed without that disgusting sight of the girl shoving her whole tongue down Weasley's throat.

And no one knew how angry you were at him. Granger, you have nothing on me when it comes to hiding your feelings. Your features also rearranged themselves when the vomit-inducing couple was in your vicinity. I could sense the hurt that was radiating off you. By that time, it was solid fact that we would never ever exchange anything more than a few jinxes and curses. But I could tell that you were so hurt by that stupid ginger who was too blind to see anything beyond that silly girl. I wanted to slap him and make him see how lucky he was. If I couldn't take care of you, I want to make damn sure that someone else would.

The last time I was near you was in the Battle of Hogwarts. Even with the ashes in your hair and the cuts across your skin, you looked beautiful. At that moment, I thought to myself, "_Even if I do die right here and now, I would die a happy man with you being the last of this world I see._" I knew after this battle, no matter who won, all that was important to me would me lost. I protected you when I could, casting Shield Charms when your back was turned. I tried to help in the fights that you were in. I tried to so hard to do the last bit I could for you, before this all ended.

And I was right. It has ended now, and the Golden Trio are highly celebrated even to this day. Potter is not only the Boy Who Lived, but the one who defeated the Dark Lord. Now, the Malfoys are nothing more than a foolish family who chose the wrong side. A bit of the family fortune was saved by my marriage to Astoria Greengrass.

Today is your wedding to Weasley. I haven't been near you since the battle, yet I see you everyday your face graces the covers of newspapers and magazine. Your wedding has been the event the magical community across Britain have been waiting for. Today you're going to form a family. Sometimes I cannot help but wonder what would have happened if I was more forward in our school days. Perhaps we were the ones to be wedded today after defying all barriers. Anyhow, I wish you the best of luck with your marriage and your future. I've only more thing to say, something I've been to scared to admit even to myself all these years.

Hermione Granger, I love you. I have loved you from the start and I just want you to know, you will be forever on my mind.

All the best,

Your Draco.

**A/N:**

**I know that there was a mix between the book verse and the movie verse in here, but please bear with me as I thought it was a good idea to put situations from both in here. Did you enjoy this? Please review and let me know what you think!**


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